The Upper Valley’s repertoire and supply of locally-grown foods keeps expanding . . . wheat, spelt, rice, soy . . and mushrooms! This weekend, I participated in a shiitake mushroom growing workshop at the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park. Forester Bill Stark of Cobb Hill, Hartland, VT was the presenter. We learned about shiitake mushroom cultivation and then experimented with the process ourselves.

The first step was to drill holes in the hardwood logs; Bill suggests oak, maple, ironwood, or hophornbeam. The holes are drilled in staggered rows all around the log.

Drilling Holes

The next step was to innoculate the logs with shiitake sawdust spawn using brass inoculators. The inoculators were filled with spawn which was then plunged into the holes. (One can also purchase plugs of sawdust spawn to hammer into the holes.

Inoculating the Logs

Melted cheese wax was then dabbed on the spawn to seal against contaminants.

Sealing with Wax

We each took home an inoculated log. We will have to keep our logs in 60-70% shade, out of the wind, maintaining high moisture content. (Soaking for 2-4 hours every 30-60 days is recommended.) The fruits of our labor should emerge in 8-14 months. Logs may produce 8-12 fruitings (4-5 years).